


Those

by yeaka



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, M/M, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-12
Updated: 2015-02-12
Packaged: 2018-03-12 01:08:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3338408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeaka/pseuds/yeaka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just a brief, bad start.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Those

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Star Trek or any of its contents, and I’m not making any money off this.

Though Jim falls short in many orderly respects, he usually reaches the bridge early. The Enterprise is everything to him, and it’s unusual for Spock to exit the turbolift and find the captain’s chair empty. The nightshift crew shouldn’t have left without a replacement, but then, Spock supposes, they would expect Jim’s tardiness as little as he did. 

While Sulu and Chekov filter into the seats before him, Spock settles down into the grand chair that’s raised in the center of the bridge. It never feels quite _right_ to him; it’s molded to Jim’s shape, meant for Jim’s body. But he is the first officer and occupies it nonetheless, wondering vaguely if he should’ve stayed over last night. At the next general meeting with Starfleet, Spock intends to put in for shared quarters, but until the order is granted, it would be improper to fully cohabitate. If he were there, of course, he could be making sure that Jim prepared himself for work. It seems unlikely that Jim’s slept through a shift, but then, he is entirely human, and therefore undeniably fallible.

He doesn’t show up in five minutes either, or in ten. At fifteen, Spock’s long fingers are tightening around the armrests, and he finds himself probing through their bond. Jim is too far away for it to be more than a faint echo, but he would know if anything were _deeply_ wrong, if Jim were severely injured or removed from the Enterprise. He finds Jim’s heartbeat quiet but there, and he rises from his chair to stroll casually to the communications center. 

He’s barely at Uhura’s side before she’s calling, “Captain Kirk to the bridge, please.” Spock nods a curt ‘thank you’ and folds his hands behind his back, waiting. 

But Jim still doesn’t come, so Spock asks aloud, “Computer, where is Captain Kirk?”

The computer responds smoothly, _“The captain is in his quarters.”_

So Spock orders, “Mr. Sulu, you have the conn.” And then he’s walking briskly to the turbolift; this bares investigation. As the doors close around him, Darwin settles into Sulu’s seat and Sulu settles into the chair, looking fluidly comfortable. 

The turbolift whisks down, during which Spock debates whether or not to call Dr. McCoy. It would be a good precaution, but then again, he’s positive that he would know if Jim were in any medical danger. So he opts to go alone, and when the doors open again, he strolls down the corridor. Jim’s door opens for him just as it always does, and a peripheral scan of the general living space shows no signs of the captain. 

Next is the bedroom, where he finds the lights dimmed low and a lump of human size curled up on the bed in a tight cocoon of blankets. Spock’s first instinct is worry, but of course, those sorts of emotions do little good, and he forces himself to walk calmly around the bed. 

When he settles onto the mattress, Jim’s face pokes out of the blankets. Even through the darkness, Spock can see the bags beneath his eyes and the heavy frown that tugs at his lips. He doesn’t look _well_ , and Spock finds his voice hushing as he asks, “Is something wrong?” 

Jim nods his head slowly, but he doesn’t elaborate. When Spock reaches down to try and tug the covers away, Jim clenches tighter, burrowing into the sheets. He sighs and mutters, “I just... I’m having a bad day, okay?”

“The day has barely begun.” Indeed, knowing Jim’s morning routine, he can’t have been up for more than an hour. Yet he winces under Spock’s retort.

He grumbles, “My chest hurts.”

“Perhaps you should see Dr. McCoy.”

“No, I just... I don’t want to talk about it. It’s just one of those things.”

Spock doesn’t understand. He can tell, like he so often does, that this is one of those times where another human would empathize. But Vulcans don’t have _bad days_ where they lie in bed for no real reason, and the human part of Spock’s never experienced such a thing. He’s felt pain. Even grief. But those are different things. And Jim is usually so strong and confident that it’s always a little surprising to see him torn down to his mortality.

Spock asks quietly, “What about the ship?”

And Jim puts on a small, sad grin, looking up at Spock to say, “I knew you’d take care of it. That’s the benefit of having a perfect first officer.”

“...Is there anything I can do?”

Jim mumbles, “No.” Spock knows that he means it.

There’s nothing wrong with Jim. Spock probes harder, but there’s no true pain in Jim’s body, none beyond what his mind has conjured. Something’s obviously happened. A rogue communiqué, or a trudged up memory, or perhaps some private self decision that’s thrown his world upside down. But Jim doesn’t seem to want to tell him what it is, so Spock can do nothing but reach for Jim’s hand. Through the contact, he can feel Jim’s anxieties, and it gives Spock a stab of pain in return. It _hurts_ to see his t’hy’la this way.

So he shifts along the bed, stretching out to lie beside Jim. The bridge is in good hands, and they’re only on route to the actual mission, so there should be no reason for either of them to return immediately. Other than, of course, proper protocol, which doesn’t matter at all when one’s t’hy’la is having ‘one of those days.’

So Spock brings Jim’s hand to his lips and presses a firm kiss to the back of it. It’s a human gesture that he hopes will make it clear that he’s here for Jim, in whatever way Jim may need him. ...Even if it’s illogical.

“I’ll tell you what happened... when I’m ready,” Jim admits. Spock doesn’t push it any further. 

He lets Jim snuggle closer to him and waits for the darkness to subside.


End file.
